From Closed to Claimed Spaces for Participation: Contestation in Urban Redevelopment Induced-Displacements and Resettlement in Kigali, Rwanda

Abstract

<jats:p>In many cities and urban areas in Africa, land acquisition for urban redevelopment, land readjustment, and resettlement of affected urban residents are currently framed as innovative approaches to eradicating informal settlements, improving the living environments, and supporting the implementation of newly adopted city Master Plans. Nevertheless, it is not yet known how the responses of institutions and affected people shape these processes. Based on research conducted in Kigali, Rwanda, this article discusses affected residents’ responses to land expropriation and resettlement necessary for urban redevelopments. Our findings show that affected informal settlement dwellers voiced their concerns over the deviations from the Expropriation Law, compensation decision-making made behind closed doors, lack of transparency in property valuation, and compensation packages that they perceive to be unfair. Some of the consequences of these concerns are strong feelings of unfairness, exclusion, and marginalisation; distrust and increased perceptions of impoverishment risks, all of which fuel contestation and resistance attitudes among the affected landowners. The affected landowners agitate to assert their rights and stake their claims through contestations, community mobilisation, and legal recourse. We conclude that such contestations constitute claimed spaces and interactions in which affected landowners are laying claim to fair processes against the ‘’exceptionality’’ and the “decide-defend” decision-making approaches, while local authorities assert legitimacy of their decisions. Critically, informal households affected by urban redevelopments see opportunities for participation in their resettlement decision-making as fundamental to securing their future.</jats:p>

Singapore vs. the ‘Singapore of Africa’—Different Approaches to Managing Urban Agriculture

“…The Master Plan 2013 introduced zoning, and thus regulated the means of land use, the heights of buildings and permissible densities of population in each area. A further assumption is that people living in hazardous areas will be resettled [75,81], and this may be a serious matter for the most vulnerable groups, with such negative socioeconomic consequences as loss of means of upkeep and reduced food security, the severing of social ties, marginalization, or even induced homelessness [82,83]. Resettlements therefore lead to the exclusion of the most vulnerable city residents, which is in contradiction with the concepts of smart, resilient and soft cities that comprise solutions aimed at social inclusion.…”

The Effect of Urban Redevelopment Induced Displacement and Resettlement on Social Capital in Ethiopia

“…However, in relation with the broken social ties and cultural practices, this policies are deaf and dumb to meet the intangible losses. It's a stunning fact from many of the studies and experiences that the loss of social capital and social cohesion is common in redevelopment displacement (Nikuze, Sliuzas, & Flacke, 2020).…”

“…Another survey conducted in Guangzhou, China showed that those who moved back to their previous neighborhoods after redevelopment suffered from a sense of disorientation and isolation (Yuqi Liu et al, 2017). Moreover, the detrimental effect of urban redevelopment appears to vary among different social groups in low-income neighborhoods; after the large-scale redevelopment, resettled residents are more likely than newly arrived residents to be subject to social disturbance (Nikuze et al, 2020). While resettled residents tend to have little contact with new residents as they still rely on former neighborly relations for social support, new residents rarely seek social support through either current or former neighborly relationships (Ambaye & Abeliene, 2015).…”

“…To mention few, dispersion and fragmentation of communities, dismantles patterns of social organization and interpersonal ties and scattering of kinship groups are among others More speci cally, loss of existing community-based mutual help and support, loss of customer-seller networks, loss of community-based saving groups. In this context, these social asset indicators were collected from studies made by Bhattacharya, Mal, Tripathy, Mandal, & Ghosh (2013); Jin et al (2020); Julianna (2014); Kaviarasu, Dinesh, & Cruz (2019); Kim, Marcouiller, & Choi (2019); Ying Liu, Geertman, Oort, & Lin (2018); Yuqi Liu, Wu, Liu, & Li (2017); Majrashi (2017); Markoç & Çinar (2018); Nikuze, Sliuzas, & Flacke (2020); Shaw & Saharan (2019); Tran (2015); and Vanclay (2017) through systematic review. Therefore, the above evidences suggests the following reasons why additional research in the area of urban redevelopment induced displacement and resettlement is needed in the context of Ethiopia in general and Gondar city in particular as one of an emerging urban center of the country.…”

Rwanda’s Land Policy Reform: Self-Employment Perspectives from a Case Study of Kimonyi Sector

“…Rwanda's economic reform associated with its market-led model of economy refers to structural transformation, mostly away from subsistence agriculture and towards poverty reduction [1]. The expropriation risk for public interest is a recurrent concern of the urban population in Kigali, a city of Rwanda [2,3]. However, the phenomenon is also present in rural areas.…”